And now, from the That’s Not Hot Sauce department… we bring you a short review of the Original Maraschino Cherries from Luxardo in Italy.

Luxardo maraschino cherries are sour marasca cherries that are candied and steeped in syrup made of cherry juice and sugar. Their firm texture and thick rich syrup make them ideal for use as a cocktail garnish, for topping ice cream sundaes, and for use in baking.

Luxardo Original Maraschino Cherries – Are they worth the extra expense?

Original Maraschino Cherries are made by the Luxardo family, who exclusively cultivate over 30,000 Marasca cherry trees in the Veneto region of Italy. This product is all natural, with no coloring or thickening agents added, and are certified kosher. Each container contains about 50% cherries, and 50% syrup by volume.

We purchased a bottle of these candied marashino cherries from DiPasquale’s Italian Marketplace in Baltimore Maryland. And at $19.99 for the jar I thought these better be good!

After sampling a few, I told Marilyn how delicious they were, but I wasn’t sure about the $20 price.

A few searches later, and low and behold, on Amazon they are priced at that point and even higher. Apparently, these babies are worth their weight in gold!

I love them in my homemade Orange Crush (vodka, OJ, splash of Sprite, maraschino juice and cherries). Just for fun, here’s a pic of my Pineapple Crush I had recently. Recipe is at the end of this post.

These definitely rock in a Manhatten or a Jack and Coke for a little sweet kick!

Throw a few of these delicious cherries on top of your favorite ice cream desert, and you will thank me. They are amazing.

And they really are worth the extra bucks. The best deal I found was for 2 jars (400g. / 14.11oz each) at $33.97 with free shipping. Here’s our affiliate link: